Gospel singer Janet Otieno: Singing lifted me out of depression

Gospel singer Janet Otieno suffered from a complex health disorder
that nearly ruined her life and career but she managed to overcome it.

“When I sit down and think about how far I have come, tears flow
from my eyes. I don’t know how to say how good You have been to me. You
have been my pillar of strength. You have taught me patience and you
have protected me all through. Receive my gratitude.”

This is the translation for the lyrics to “Pokea”, one of Janet
Otieno’s latest gospel songs, released to YouTube viewers last month.

According to Janet, the lyrics are a true reflection of her life’s
journey, having overcome depression to be where she is today.

The singer, known to most for her 2013 hit single “Napokea Kwako”
featuring Tanzanian singer Christina Shusho, says she is coming out to
share her life story to encourage someone in the same situation.

Janet describes herself as a singer, songwriter, philanthropist,
mother, wife, businesswoman and a minister of God.

The second of three children born to William Ochieng, a lawyer,
and Pamela Ochieng, a business woman, Janet grew up in Kisumu County’s
Nyakach constituency. She attended Onyuongo RC Primary School and Ahero
High School, both in Kisumu.

Growing up, music was a big part of Janet’s life. She dreamed of
becoming a singer but her parents, especially her father, would hear
none of it. They believed gospel music had no future and associated it
with retrogression. They had a different idea for her; to pursue a more
respectable career in engineering.

“Each time I brought up the topic, my parents would strongly
object to it and insist I understand and respect their right or face
their wrath,” says Janet.

Ever the obedient child, she did as her parents wished and joined
New George’s College in Nairobi for a diploma in Civil Engineering, yet
her heart was not in it.

“I needed to act fast knowing too well I was not comfortable with my
parent’s choice of career which would end up shattering my dreams,” says
Janet.

She tried her best to stay in school but after only five months,
she couldn’t take it anymore. She quit college, defying her family
wishes, and pursued her dream of becoming a gospel singer.

Her parents were crest-fallen. “I recall them disassociating
themselves from me for close to a year,” Janet says.

She says it later took the intervention of her elder brother and
uncle for her parents to understand her actions and start to speak to
her again.

Moving to Nairobi

Janet moved to Nairobi’s Embakasi estate, where she lived with
her uncle and secured a part time job at Oriental company within
Embakasi – that specialised in making zips, belts and peanuts. The money
she earned was just enough to meet her basic needs.

When she wasn’t working, Janet began her quest for a career in music.
She started attending churches and crusades where famous gospel
musicians performed.

Later in 1991, she joined the church choir at Redeemed Gospel
Church, Embakasi. She soon became the lead singer and guided the
congregation through powerful praise and worship sessions with her
magnificent voice.

After the Sunday church services Janet would retreat to the solitude of her home and compose songs.

Due to her achievements the lady with a strong social media
presence been busy doing interviews in various media platforms.

Big proposal

It was there that she met a man by the name Alfred Otieno who
later turned out to be the love of her life – the husband and the father
of her children.

Janet describes her proposal as different; beautiful and without a doubt the best moment of her life.

“Alfred proposed to me one day after he invited me for an evening
coffee in a popular café in town. It felt absolutely wonderful; I don’t
think there are actually words to convey how wonderful it felt. Finding
someone so completely accepting of you can be a struggle. I feel
incredibly lucky to have found him -- to know that he loved and accepted
me completely,” she says.

In 1996, the couple wedded with the blessings of their parents.
The couple has two daughters -- Ivy Mich and Pridence Bushness -- and a
son Travis Gueth.

A strong believer of respect, communication, love and trust in
any relationship, Janet has advice for couples struggling with marital
challenges.

“Marriage is all about getting to understand your partner.
Another crucial thing is communication. We all have different
understanding and, in most cases, that’s where many arguments are
brewed. Nothing beats the power of communication in marriage since it
carries love and understanding,” she says.

Difficult times

Even with a happy marriage, Janet says she faced many personal
challenges, especially after becoming a mother.

After giving birth to her second child in 2001, Janet faced
health issues that led to further distress. Weighing 136kg, she ended up
with metabolic syndrome (an increased level of glucose, sugar in the
blood) and pre-diabetes (risk of developing full-blown diabetes, heart
disease and stroke). She also had cardiovascular and thyroid problems.

“On top of that, my knees hurt. I was easily out of breath and
could hardly walk for more than five minutes,” Janet narrates. “I missed
out on a happy, joyous motherhood. The fact that no one seemed to have a
solution to my problem -- not even doctors who attributed my condition
to pre-conception obesity and excessive weight gain during pregnancy. It
made me depressed,” says Janet.

“My first memory of sensing that I was ‘different’ was three
months after the birth of my second born child. One of my young friends
and I sang at a church choir within the neighbourhood and as I stood on
the stage singing my heart out, I sensed some people in the audience
were laughing at me because I was fat,” Janet says adding that she was
subjected to daily teasing, mocking, jokes and stares from people of all
ages. She says she was excluded from ladies’ meetings and felt
ostracised by her peers.

Low moments

“With each passing fortnight, my weight increased by
approximately 1.3 kg and my self-esteem and self-worth plummeted. The
pain was too great for me to bear as a young mother and wife. I prayed
many nights that I would die in my sleep. I hated myself and my life.
But even so, I hated having to face yet another day with its painful
repetition of the day before. I kept telling myself I needed to end it
all,” Janet narrates.

Janet before having the operation that helped her lose weight

With
time, Janet found it harder and harder to leave her house. When she
tried, she could hardly find the right size of dress to wear and her
fear of being mocked grew. Eventually, her husband Alfred Otieno had to
step in and take charge of some of her duties as a mother.

Tired of constant negative attention having been pushed to the
wall, Janet found herself doing the unthinkable -- attempting suicide
four times by taking extremely high doses of medicines she bought over
the counter.

On her fifth attempt, Janet had a turnaround.

“My husband had been so supportive. One day, it hit me that I
could lose him,” Janet says. “A friend from the US named Vanice paid us a
visit and I was able to share my problems with her. She too had been a
victim of obesity many years ago. She understood the pain I was going
through and was willing to help,” she narrates.

Following Vanice’s advice, Janet enrolled at a local gym and embarked on proper dieting.

However, after seven months, Janet got big and painful blemishes
that took a while to heal. The doctors attributed her skin condition to
rampant burning of fats and advised her to stop aerobics for some time.

“I was depressed. My self-esteem was gone and there were times
when I locked myself inside the house for days,” Janet says.

Not willing to give up Janet continued with her proper dieting
with the hope that she would eventually be able to lose weight and her
face would go back to normal.

Fortunately, after nine months, she was able to get back in shape
and since then, there’s been no looking back.

“I am glad that despite the challenges I encountered deep inside
of me, there was a little spark of hope that one day everything would
fall back in place,” says.

Through the decade she battled depression, Janet says music was the only place she found solace.

“Music was part of the solution to my problem. It’s healing and
soothing effect allowed me to see there was more to life than attempting
suicide. Through my lyrics, I was able to voice out my problems,” Janet
says.

In 2013, Janet says she got a vision from God.

“I was napping during the day. I saw myself singing in huge
gatherings and people would be in a state of worship,” Janet says adding
that she felt God was calling her into full time music ministry.

Carving a niche

“Later, when I went to a conference in South Africa, a pastor
called me out, pointing at me, and said God was calling me into
ministry,” Janet narrates.

With the help of producer Sam Lokwa, Janet recorded her first song, a version of “Napokea Kwako.”

Around the same time, Janet travelled to Tanzania, where she met
Christina Shusho. “I asked her to advise me on the way forward regarding
my song and she offered to work with me and Lokwa to reproduce it,”
Janet says.

Janet says although she and Shusho had known each other through
church circles long before she even thought of recording her music, it
was her visit to Dar es Salaam that saw their friendship renewed,
birthing their collaboration on the debut single.

“I knew it was God’s favour, being able to work with an
award-winning artist was a plus on my side,” says Janet. “Indeed it was
my time to shine.”

The song became a major hit in East and Central Africa, garnering
millions of views on YouTube and becoming Janet’s launch pad into the
Gospel music industry. It was also nominated for the Groove Award for
Best Gospel Song of the Year in 2014.

“God planned it. The song was a good one and I’m grateful,” says Janet.

Janet went on to record a number of other songs as a solo artist,
among them Uniongoze, Ni Wewe, Mtafute, Heshima, Tembea Nami, Roho
Wako. She also recorded Nisamehe with Congolese musician Rigan Sarkozi.

“Many women out there suffer from depression but they choose not
to talk about it. I hope my story will reach many out there and
encourage them,” Janet concludes.
So...have you watched Game of Thrones?

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